SUPPLY RUN

Niall, Lee and their other teammates Ethan and Klay are running as fast and quiet as they can towards a gas station. The teams are formed to gather supplies after the recent events in their community, after the gashing of wheels their supplies starts to disappear from their storage. It still was not enough to be noticed that their supplies have decreased in the amount, but due to their daily check they noticed some amounts missing. The harvest season is yet to come and their farm animals seems to have fallen ill, an example is salmonella which weaken the work force.

Their local veterinarians have taken good care of their farm animals and poultry, the cases have been controlled to only 3 of the cattle. Dylan has been doing well taken care of the agriculturist who has been infected by the disease, some still continued to work as their health is doing well.

Both towns are depending to the supply runners to complete their mission and bring some supplies back. If they depend heavily on the agriculturist during this time, everyone will suffer heavily and might cause discord in the towns.

Niall and his team are assigned on the community of Bentonville, they were supposed to go to Front Royal which is on their path towards Bentonville, but the reconnoiters are asked to comeback after the recent events. So their scoping missions are postponed.

Niall and his team separated into two sub-groups. Ethan and Klay took over and gather on the left half of the community, then Niall and Lee on the right half. They found and gathered the wheels in the gas station, they fastened it behind a truck. Ethan checked the car in case the key is in there, he looked through the window.

"None, maybe in the sun visor"

"Well, you guys have lock picks right?"

"Aye, I'll open it"

Ethan starts to lock pick the car door, Klay stood there and told the other two to start gathering. They nodded and started to forage on the other side of the community, Lee turned on his flash light and would light it through the windows to see if any eyes will reflect it. None.

They started at the very edge of the community and move up back to the gas station. They used a rusty crowbar that is left on the ground he starts to pry open the door, Lee aimed her gun at the door in case something comes out. Niall counted down and pushed the door hard, but nothing just an empty house and two bodies hanged up. The two corpses have flies flying around it and maggots burrowing deep into them.

Niall approached it to see a note on its feet, drenched in blood and covered by the flies. As he approached it, the hanged corpses reacted and startled him. Niall used the crowbar and stabbed it through its eyes, the second one is unresponsive so he shined his light on it. Its already dead, blood splattered on the ceiling and they can see where the bullet went through. He looked at the first corpse and it missed it.

"Okay, let's start checking"

"Okay"

They started to check the house slowly. Niall checked the master bedroom and one of the wall is just missing, he checked all the side drawers. He finds a a flash light, and when he turned it on its a black light. He kept it for the batteries, as the black light will only annoy him. He checked the whole room only to find gauze and alcohol, he checked the bathroom and finds some antibiotic.

The two met up outside and they only found the most common things. Back the the gas station, as soon as Ethan opened the door the alarm started to go off. His guess is right because as he opened the sun visor, the key fell. He immediately switch off the alarm. Niall and Lee heard the alarm but goes off immediately to their relief. They checked the next house, instead of turning on his flash light he turned on the black light. Instead of switching he did not have enough thought to do it, as there is no light and they cannot see the biters charging at them. Like the house before there seems to be bodies hanged on the ceiling.

He shined his light to the four hanging corpses, he started at it and his face expressed his disgust and sympathy to them. As he shined his black light on it long enough, the corpses reacted to the black light. They seems to have been agitated by the black light, he turned on his flash light and switch the type of light hitting the corpses. Lee finds it weird.

"Stop that, its annoying"

"Yeah, but look.."

'Black light' Niall said and after less than 1 minute they started to react from it, he put it down and switch to the flash light.

"Weird right?"

'Ye-' To their right, they hear a noise. Something has noticed them, a stroller approaches them. Niall took two short steps and shined the black light on it. It slowly approached him, soon after that it stopped on his place. It started to 'get hurt' from the black light, Niall put it down and again it starts to walk. Niall approached it and killed its, he also killed the hanged corpses and they checked the house thoroughly.

The black light seems to be effective on holding down the dead at bay, it also works on runners. They freeze in place as the intensity of the black light increases. After checking their part, Lee decided to go on and check on the gas station. Their partners seems to be unresponsive on their walkie talkies.

"Niall"

"Yeah?"

"I'll go check on the other two... they are not responding"

"Sure, get your gun ready"

"Yes"

They separated to continue their tasks, Niall continued to check the houses out and Lee jogged back to the gas station. She first stopped by the convenience store, she finds Ethan and Klay's back packs opened and filled with canned and unperishable. No one seems to be there, she looked over to the refrigerator units and it has cracks on it. She stepped out side and sees Klay being dragged into the supermarket. She ran to it immediately and fought the person.

The person is at a height of 6'3, obviously a man because of his massive size and wears a mask. He grabbed her but she managed to cut him. Lee screamed loud enough to be heard. She tried her best to fight off the man, she can only land small cuts on him with her knife. She grabbed her gun but she was disarmed almost immediately.

The man punched her on the chin and the force exerted is enough to knock her out. Niall came charging with the crowbar but the big man took it hard, Niall is almost the same height as him. He grabbed his forearm and squeezed but the man's fore arm has a guard and it became useless. The man headbutted him and threw him to the ground, Niall noticed Lee and grabbed her thinking she can be awaken. The man grabbed his revolver and aimed directly on Niall's head, his eyes can only glare as he might die. He noticed Ethan and Klay tied up on the tool desk.

The man seems to be reaching something on his pocket, Niall cannot move as he is still afraid. He dropped a piece of cloth with a white paint, and he left. Niall cannot move properly as his body aches, he cut the other two free and laid the three down with each other. The man came back with the bags from the convenient store and the bag that Niall dropped as he was rushing to them, he put it down and only stared at Niall. The same stare that he he felt last year, a chill came down his spin. The man aimed the gun once more, before he can shoot a whistle was blown and he ran away.

Niall tired tried his best to put everyone up into the truck. It is hard for him to walk, he got into the truck and the key seems to be not there.

"Ethan"

He got out slowly and went behind to where Ethan is knocked out. He checked him and the found the key, Niall stopped and looked to the back of the car.

"Tarp.. okay"

He grabbed a tarp and covered the back of the truck. He got in the car and started it up, he drove out of the building and siphoned some of the gas. Ethan woke up and was screaming.

"Hey buddy"

"Niall?"

"Yeah, oh god.. Big guy, I sa-"

"Yeah yeah, don't worry he's gone"

"Okay"

"Can you help me siphon some gas?"

"Sure"

They siphoned a lot of the diesel into a barrel. As they got into the last barrel Niall noticed someone staring at them. He looked behind them and see two figures this time wearing the exam same outfit. The big man raised something into the air, from what Niall can see it is the same type of cloth as the one that he was given. He grabbed on to his pocket where he kept the cloth.

"Niall"

"Oh, what's up"

"Its finished, the barrel is on the truck"

"Now that I see your face all fucked up, are you okay?"

"Yeah, you go ahead.. I'll catch up"

"Sure"

They drove back to Washington, he can still see the two figures through the side mirrors, and walking away.

"Alpha, are you there?"

"Sir, can you hear me?"

"Yes, I can hear you"

"Their starting"

"Good, 1 more week. Call the other 3"

"Beta is with me"

"Good, Delta and Foxtrot?"

"Delta is in there with them, foxtrot... to be made"

"Good, tell him to prepare. We'll attack and we'll take her"

"yes sir"

"Was that the old man?"

"Let's go"

They finally arrived at the town after the drive. They got out and some the people around them drove their newly acquired cars and supplies. A nurse stopped Niall on where he is and she started to treat his wounds. Kayla approaches him.

"Hey, holy shit you look much better now"

"Can it, I got my ass handed to me"

"By who?"

"A tall man, he was wearing armor or something"

"Oh we-"

"THERE YOU ARE!"

"Oh, Bryce"

"Sorry to interrupt"

"Yeah, sure go at it"

"Yeah, so can I talk to you about the man you saw last year?"

"We saw"

"Yeah sure... did he give you anything?"

"No, he just aimed his gun at me then walked away"

"How did you get beaten up"

"I have no idea if its the same guy, but they have the same outfit"

"Did he give you something before or now?"

Niall asked the nurse to pause treating him and she stopped, he got rid of his jacket. He slowly stood up and grabbed the cloth from his pocket slowly, he never opened it.

"Here"

"....."

He grabbed the cloth and opened it, it has the same skull that Harry has. The only difference is in the color of the paint. The one that Harry has is with a black paint while this one has a white paint.

"Did he say anything about this?"

"No Idea kid"

"We need to find Harry"

"For?"

"There you are"

The two brothers appeared before them, they were from a council meeting that was conducted earlier. Bryce showed the cloth and Harry grabbed the one that he has. Kayla climbed on top of the tower where Natalia is standing. Kayla gave her a binoculars, and she looked at it. Her expression changed as she stared at it and dropped the binoculars down to the ground. It made a loud noise, Harry and Toby looked up to see the two girls. Natalia seems to be in shock and hugged Kayla, Toby ran up to the tower to see her trembling.

"I'm sorry"